A whole lotta catch-up

So I'm gonna play a little catch-up here seeing as though things have been a little busy lately. Benji is happily home and physically doing great. The surgery was a success and it's like he has a whole new heart. Hopefully this will mean he'll start gaining some weight soon :) Sadly, Benji has struggled a bit with sleeping post-surgery. He's always been a bit of a mama's boy but that has increased by about 100%. After getting home he refused to sleep in his own bed and all he wanted was to be held, mostly only by me. The poor kid simply cried & cried those first few days. After losing most of my sanity after several very sleepless nights, we went back to the doctor and was told that he was in perfect health -- just suffering from severe separation anxiety and a form of PTSD. And that there ins't much we could do about it for the next few weeks besides baby him & give him lots of love. So back into the trenches we went with my saintly mom here to offer breaks as Benji would let us. The last few days have been getting much better, however, he still won't sleep in his bed for more than a hour at a time but he will take a couple naps in his carseat throughout the day and will go at least a few hours at a time each night. 

Did I mention he also cut his first tooth the day we came home from the hospital? 

Yup. Joy. 

So, we aren't moving too fast but things are slowly starting to look up.

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To give a better idea of what life has been like at the Millet house the past couple weeks, let me illustrate this morning's conversation with Peter:

So I'm sleeping on the couch with Benji because he was doing his I'm-going-to-wake-up-every-hour-throughout-the-night routine and when that happens I usually wind up on the couch around 4am cause it's just easier to co-sleep with him. Anyways, I'm trying to enjoy a few more minutes of blissful sleep when all the sudden I hear the very, very soft ringing of a bell. When I look down, Peter is sitting on the floor next to the couch with a bell and when he sees me looking at him says, "Hi Mommy. I'm ringing the bell because it's time to get up. Can you wake up now?" No Peter. I don't want to get up now, but I will.

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First up on the recap is Halloween. 

Pre-surgery we went to Lombardi Ranch with my mom and a couple of friends and had a great time.

 We rode the train

Peter, Peter pumpkin eater.

 Peter drove the old fashioned Paddy Wagon

And, of course, picked out pumpkins.

Then for the big day itself, Peter went as The Boy Who Lived. He was so dang cute.

Trav took him to our new ward trunk-or-treat and they had a great time.

Benji & I stayed home with my mom but we did manage to get a photo of him in his Frankenstein shirt.

Looking pretty good a mere 5 days after surgery, no?

Then my sister and her cute daughter Paige came out and helped me figure out how to get Benji to sleep. 

Benji loves his Aunt Tracie.

And his cousin Paige.

But most of all he loves his big brother.

And then Benji turned 6 months old last Sunday.

So cute, so happy (usually) and a mighty 11lbs 5oz & 26" long with 1.5 teeth and one wicked pirate scar down his chest. 

We love ya kid.

Now just let us get some sleep.